Queen of Swords 12


    The bandit archers that cknail had saved from the assassins took his advice and decided to leave. It would have been pointless for them to have stayed to help him fight, but it would have also been nice of them to offer. Humans sure were an ungrateful bunch.


    Before they left cknail borrowed some of their rope. The hobgoblin was a little concerned that Malthus would get lost and not be able to find his location, so he wandered back over to the first assassin hed killed. He then picked the corpse up and hung the cloaked body by its neck from the tallest nearby chimney. There was no way Malthus could miss that helpful sign!


    Now all he had to do was be patient


    Wait, what if Malthus didnte because he suspected an ambush or something? That would ruin cknails perfect n.


    This isnt a trap. I just want-ss to kill you, Malthus! cknail yelled out to rify things.


    The sound of his voice echoed loudly over the nearby rooftops and through the dark alleys between them. The hobgoblin was more than a little disappointed when no one yelled back to thank him for the exnation.


    Standing around on the rooftop was definitely getting boring. Why couldnt Herad fight people who were more interesting and talked more?


    cknail impatiently strolled along the rooftops as he waited for his enemies to show up. He would asionally stop to throw out a few more insults, apparently Malthus was the son of a goat, but the hobgoblin kept his head down and eyes open. The fact that the assassins were running around with crossbows hadnt slipped his mind.


    A few minutester cknail finally heard the sound of someone trying to sneak up on him. He quickly looked over his shoulder to see a flurry of movement in an alley below him as several cloaked figures dove for cover.


    I think he saw us, one of the men whispered.


    Thats impossible, another replied quietly.


    I can-ss hear you too! cknail answered back helpfully.


    He wanted them to stop sneaking around and attack him already. There really was no point in them trying to sneak up on him.


    Damnation, how in all the hells can he do that? one of the assassins cursed.


    Maybe he just guessed what we said, and he didnt actually hear us, another suggested.


    There was a moment of silence as the assassins thought this possibility over.


    Im not-ss just guessing; I can-ss really hear you, cknail yelled back.


    Rot and ruin! It must be some sort of magic, one of them cursed from where he was hiding behind a pile of trash.


    He could have just guessed that wed think he was guessing, the first assassin added thoughtfully.


    There was another second of silence. Then the hobgoblin heard a smacking sound like someone had just gotten pped or punched and Malthus spoke up.


    Just shut up, you idiot. It doesnt matter how hes doing it! Everyone just stay silent; were switching to hand signals from now on, hemanded his men.


    Just hurry up! Youre taking-ss forever, cknail impatiently shouted their way.


    Shut your vile trap you freakish bastard! Malthus yelled back angrily.


    Youre not supposed to be talking! the hobgoblin pointed out cheerfully.


    cknail may have just been imagining it, but it almost sounded like he could hear Malthus grinding his teeth all the way from the roof. Was he angry for some reason? He was just trying to be helpful so that the assassins would stop wasting so much of his time.


    The hobgoblin waited for Malthus and his men to approach him. After a few seconds they tried to slip around the other side of the building and nk him. cknail sighed in annoyance at their snail-like pace.


    Well if they wouldnte to him then he would just go to them! The hobgoblin broke out into a dash. The thump of his footsteps as he ran knocked the tiles beneath his boots loose and they started to slide and fall off of the roof and onto the ground below.


    cknail jumped the gap between ledges andnded on the next roof over. He scrambled to catch his bnce for a second and then continued running straight for Malthus and the assassins, or at least towards the roof that hung over their heads.


    After another quick leap he passed them right by and just kept on running. There was muttered swearing from the alley below as the hobgoblin zoomed by, and cknail smiled in self-satisfaction. His n was perfect. All he had to do was get Malthus to follow him, and he had a fairly good idea about how to do that.


    You idiots are too slow. Im just going-ss to lose you in the city and then go kill-ss Zelena, he yelled as he ran by.


    The muttering from below intensified, and was quickly followed a stampede of footsteps. It definitely sounded like all the assassins were chasing him.


    Quick, after him! Dont let him escape, but keep an eye out for ambushes. This is probably a trap, Malthus ordered his minions as he took off after the hobgoblin.


    The rooftops were treacherous and harder to run on than the streets below, and that slowed cknail down somewhat. They also allowed him to take more than a few shortcuts though, and more importantly he was a hobgoblin Vessel, so he was easily able to keep his lead. In fact, he had to slow down several times so that he didnt get too far ahead.


    At the brisk pace he was keeping cknail soon led his pursuers out of Herads territory in the warehouse district and out into the city proper. The roofs under his feet and the buildings that supported them grew smaller. The asional citizen of Daggerpoint also appeared below now that they were away from the battle.


    As a Vessel Malthus was by far the fastest runner in his squad, but he seemed reluctant to leave his men behind and that slowed him down. All the assassins were also on the ground below cknail, and he was above them on the rooftops, so they couldnt attack him no matter how close they got.


    Or at least that was true for the first few minutes of the chase. Suddenly, there was a series of odd thumps from below and a curious cknail looked over the edge just in time to see Malthusunch himself off a pile of crates, grab a post that protruded from a wall, swing himself up, twist through the air, and then roll onto the roof.


    The maneuver slowed the assassin down and left cknail with a strong lead so he wasnt too worried though. Even though Malthus was a Vessel he was still human so cknail was confident he could outrun him.


    The hobgoblin grinned smugly at the assassin without concern, until there was a shout from below and Malthus reached over the edge of the roof just in time to catch a crossbow one of his subordinates had thrown up to him. cknails smile quickly faded after that.


    Uh oh, thats bad-ss as bugs, he swore to himself.


    The still running assassin leader pulled out a bolt and started struggling to load his crossbow while he was still moving. Unfortunately, cknail was fairly sure he would get it right soon. He was proven correct a few secondster when an ominous clicking noise rang out behind him.


    All of a sudden cknail wasnt left with very many good options, so he jumped off the roof. A secondter a crossbow bolt whistled over his head and flew off into the city.


    The, still crossbow bolt free, hobgoblin now hung in the empty air over the street that ran beside the edge of the roof. A split secondter he began to drop inexorably towards the rather hard looking cobblestones below.


    So he twisted around and grabbed a clothesline that hung over the road. His weight dragged the line downwards and he began to slide down its length towards the center of the street, until the line broke with a sharp snap.


    Piss on crossbows! cknail hissed as he iled in the air and fell uncontrobly towards the ground again.


    There was nothing else nearby he could grab, so he tucked himself up and rolled when he hit the ground. The rough stone and gravel of the street dug into his back as he careened across the street and smashed into a stack of crates.


    Luckily, the crates werent solidly built. The thin wood shattered easily when the cart-wheeling hobgoblin hit them to reveal that they were stuffed full of packing straw. Bits of broken wood jabbed painfully into his sides as he mmed suddenly to a stop, but the cloak that he was now tangled up in stopped any of them from drawing blood.


    Ow, the hobgoblin whined as straw rained down around him. The only part of him that was visible was his feet. They stuck up into the air while the rest of his body was hidden by shattered crates and their contents.


    Hes down, get him! Malthus yelled from a nearby rooftop as he reloaded his crossbow.


    cknails head poked out from the pile of wreckage he was buried in and he spat out a mouthful of straw. He didnt feel so great. The city seemed blurry and to be spinning around him for some reason.


    There was something else that felt wrong too His face felt oddly exposed.


    His mask! cknail quickly pulled his mask back on. It must havee loose when hed crashed. Luckily, it didnt seem like anyone had seen his face. Herad had told him to keep his identity a secret.


    cknail shook his head to clear it and quickly rose to his feet, just as the first of his pursuers ran around the corner of a close by building and came into sight. It was time to go!


    There he is! one of the assassins yelled as he pointed to cknail.


    The hobgoblin immediately broke out into a sprint towards the nearest alley. He almost tripped as he struggled to untangle his cloak from his feet but caught himself at thest second. He had to get out of sight before Malthus reloaded that crossbow!


    He apparently made it because no pointy objects mmed into his back as he dashed for cover. The good news was that he was almost at his destination now. The bad news was that every bone in his body hurt and his vision was still a little blurry.


    The assassins entered the alley only moments after cknail, but he had already sprinted a fair distance ahead. Since Malthus was still more than a bit behind the hobgoblin took gleeful advantage of his absence. He pulled his sling out and sent a hail of stones at the men chasing him. They whirred through the air and smashed into the unsuspecting assassins.


    Bloody bastard, one of them swore as a stone mmed into his shin.


    He dropped to the ground, and he wasnt alone. Another assassin also took a rock to his stomach and fell. That left just four more assassins plus Malthus that were still chasing him.


    One of the remaining pursuers dove for cover and pulled a crossbow off his back, so ckail hurriedly fled down the alley. Rotten contraptions, why did all his enemies seem to have them? This would be a lot easier if he didnt constantly need to worry about being shot!


    cknail threw himself around the corner of a building and out of the shadows of the alley. He burst at a full sprint out onto a wide sunlit street.


    Ah, which way-ss now? cknail hissed to himself.


    All that dodging had gotten him turned around and he had to take a second to figure out where he was. He didnt dare slow down though.


    Homes made from wood and white ster lined the edges of the road, and the running hobgoblin drew curious nces from several people who were walking by. It was far from crowded here but there were several dozen rough looking men and women scattered about. This was Daggerpoint though, so he was mostly ignored. No one wanted to get involved in something that didnt concern them.


    The assassins ran out of the alley a few secondster, and Malthus had already gotten off the roof and caught up to them somehow. cknail veered left to ce a small crowd of six people between him and his pursuers just as Malthus raised his crossbow.


    What in all hells! a woman swore as she noticed the weapon that was seemingly aimed towards her.


    The rest of her group flinched and two of the men drew their swords. Malthus tossed his bolt thrower to the assassin on his left and then drew his own de. He dove forward with an angry growl and his sword shed through the air.


    The assassins de knocked one of the mens weapons aside and then he shed through the other''s exposed wrist. The second man shrieked in pain and his sword dropped from his now bloody mangled hand. Malthus then dove through the remaining unresisting members of the crowd and after the hobgoblin.


    Shouts of surprise and rm rang out as the assassin leader scattered people in his wake and they fled from him. cknail started running a little faster. He was almost there now!


    The street was now almostpletely empty of pedestrians as everyone fled from the ruckus, but now Malthus himself was between cknail and the crossbowman.


    The hobgoblin suddenly turned right and vaulted over a small waist-high wooden post fence that stretched the short distance between two homes. Hended on packed dirt with sparse grass sprouting up from it. Malthus was hot on his heels and the hobgoblin had to run as quickly as possible to stay ahead of him.


    A tall stone wall blocked his way, so cknail jumped up on top of a barrel and then flipped over the barrier. Hended in a cluster of bushes on the other side and quickly scrambled to his feet.


    There were no buildings on this side of the wall. Thick scrubby bush and gangly trees filled the area. The ground was dry and cracked but it showed obvious signs of flooding in the spring. That was probably why no one had built anything here. It was a forgotten little corner of Daggerpoint that had been allowed to run wild.


    While exploring the city cknail had discovered several ces like this, but this was the closest one to Herads base. cknail grinned as he ducked out of sight behind a tree. This is where he had decided to prepare his fun little surprises. It was time to see how these fat city humans did in cknails natural environment!


    As the hobgoblin watched Malthus appeared atop the stone wall. The man grimaced and cursed quietly to himself as he scanned the bush below him. He seemed hesitant to chase his target into the thicket.


    cknail was tempted to taunt him but he knew that wouldnt help. Not knowing where his target was and whether he had doubled back towards the battlefield was undoubtedly bugging him.


    After a minute or two Malthus cloaked subordinates climbed up onto the wall next to him. They also seemed less than happy when they saw whaty ahead of them.


    What do you think? Malthus asked.


    I think he led us here on purpose, an assassin remarked.


    Theres no way hes led us into an ambush. It would take a half apany to secure this bush and wed see signs of them, another man replied.


    Not to mention theres no way Herad would throw away that many men during a battle, Malthus added.


    What if he just wants to waste our time while we search this foul mess for him? He could be long gone, one of the other assassins asked.


    Malthus scowled darkly and stared into the bush and trees for any signs of cknail. He appeared to be deep in thought and conflicted about what to do.


    No, hes in there. Hes alone, wounded from his fall, and cornered. Im not losing this chance to take him out. I dont care if Zelena wins her little battle. I want this bastard dead. Daggerpoint is our territory; there isnt room in it for both us and this freak, he eventually told his men.


    There were reluctant nods of acknowledgement from the other four assassins, and together Malthus and his men jumped down into the thicket below. Theynded among the bushes and took up a spread out formation as they pressed forward.


    From where he was lurking and watching, cknail purred quietly to himself in pleasure and his eyes shed with malevolent joy. The chase had ended and the real hunt had now begun. His perfect n had reached the final stage.


    The hobgoblin carefully turned and began to silently creep away from his pursuers. He then purposely stepped on arge twig. The piece of wood broke under his weight and made a loud snapping sound.


    Instantly, the assassins turned towards the noise, but they couldnt see him through the heavy brush. They thus began to move carefully towards the source of the noise. cknail giggled to himself as he led them deeper into the shadows of the trees.