The Dagger and the Crown

It is a bright sunny day and the market is once again bustling with life; the smells of pies baking in the sun, the sounds of costumers arguing with the shop owners and dogs barking in the background. Azazel is walking through the market place, breathing in the fresh air and delicious scents of summer. He has no contracts for a week and intends to spend his week relaxing. He would’ve loved to spend it with Lillian but according to Malum, she is currently off on some diplomat assignment. So instead, he decides he’ll just visit an old friend of his and heads towards an old antique store. As he opens the door, the little bell rings and he takes in the full view. There are quite possibly hundreds of different artifacts gathered from all over the continent, even a few from over the seas for the Waste Lands. Most of these artifacts came from ancient ruins scattered around the jungle and sold here. There are pots, vases, old weapons, and even a few statues.
The old man, the owner of the shop, looks up from his book behind his desk and notices Azazel. He smiles and says, “Azazel! How are you my young lad?”
Azazel returns the smile and replies, “I am doing fine Solon, and how are you?”
Solon chuckles and says, “I am doing fine my young assassin. How goes your contracts?”
“Solon, you know that you are not suppose to know about my contracts.”
The old man laughs as he says, “Yes, yes, I know. But you know that Arnold and I are old friends.”
“Yes, I know that, but still, imagine if someone were to hear you.”
And as soon as he says that, a cute younger looking yet tall girl with tan skin, auburn hair, and green eyes and wearing a long, dark green robe comes from a section in the back of the shop carrying an armful of ancient books and sets them on the desk. “I believe I found the books I am looking for Solon.”
The old man looks at the books and says, “Yes Selene, I believe these are the right books. I’m surprised I still have them.”
Selene giggles as she pulls out her coin purse but before she could pull out the payment, she turns around and notices Azazel. “Oh, hello there. I didn’t know you were here. Do you come here often?”
Azazel stammers as he says, “Y-yes, I do. Well, I try to anyways, when I’m not busy really.”
“Oh? And what do you do for a living?”
Both Azazel and Solon freeze up at this question but it’s the old man who comes to the rescue, saying, “Well, you see, he’s an explorer. He goes into the jungles in search of temples and the such. He is really good.”
Selene’s eyes light up as she excitedly begins asking, “Really? You go exploring? In old abandoned ruins? Oh Gods, it must be so dangerous. Do you go at it alone or are you part of a team?”
Solon begins laughing as he says, “Selene, easy with the questions, you’ll wear the poor boy out.”
Selene looks back at Solon before she stars giggling. “Oh, I’m sorry about that. Hehe, I just get so excited when it comes to old ruins. Because you see, I am a wizard and I try to learn as much as I can about the Ancients.”
Azazel quickly perks up at the mention of her occupation. “A wizard?”
Selene smiles and says, “Yes, I’m a wizard. More specifically, the court wizard for King Herald and the late Lady Leanna, Diablo rest her soul, and the young princess.
“Wait, you know Princess Lillian?”
“Yes, I do. But how do you know her?”
“Oh, well, um…”
“Wait a minute, you’re Azazel, aren’t you?”
Azazel tenses up at this question. He thinks to himself, “What has Lillian told her? Did she tell her what I really am? That I’m actually an assassin?”
Selene then claps her hands together and says, “Oh my Gods, you are Azazel! She has told me so much about you. Especially about how you got her coin purse back and how you defended her from those sailors.” She then squeals in delight. “You sound like the perfect hero! A knight in shinning armor.”
Azazel scratches the back of his neck in embarrassment as he says, “No no, I’m not really that great. I’m just an explorer, that’s all.”
Selene smirks as she says, “Alright, if you say so.” She turns around and pays Solon for her books.
As Selene is paying for her books, Azazel can’t help but to notice something sticking out of her hair on the side of her head where her ears would be. He then realizes that it is her ear, but more pointed. “Excuse me, Selene? Are you an elf?”
Selene turns around, smiles, and answers, “Why yes, I am an elf. Why do you ask?”
“I just noticed your ear poking out of your hair. What is an elf doing as a wizard to the castle instead of living in the jungle?”
Selene touches the tip of her chin with her finger as she thinks before saying, “Well, believe it or not, I actually knew King Herald before he became king, back when he was just the prince, I believe thirty years ago?”
“Thirty years?! You look barely older than I do!”
Selene giggles as she says, “Yes, well, we elves age differently and live much longer than you humans, though, no where near the length of the great Bone-Hounds.”
“’Bone-Hounds’? What are they?”
Before Selene could answer, Solon looks up from his accounting book and asks, “You’ve never heard of a Bone-Hound?” Azazel simply shakes his head. “Well, Selene my dear, tell him while I find a book about them.” Solon then goes out from around his desk and goes back to the area with the books where Selene appeared.
Selene turns back to Azazel and says, “Well Azazel, you see, Bone-Hounds are giant, wolf-like creatures that live in the jungle. They usually get around 20 or so feet long and weigh almost twice as much as a bull, and probably three times as strong. Their most noticeably features is their bone armor.”
“Bone armor?”
“Yes, bone armor, but most of it you can’t see because it’s under their thick, black fur. Their heads, on the other hand, has no skin or muscle on it, just bone, and their teeth are retractable to make up for their lack of lips. They also have three spikes on their shoulders and hips. Also, despite their appearance, they are actually extremely intelligent. And they run in packs.”
“Wow, how many?
“Well, there’s only about twenty members to a pack, but I’ve heard about this one Bone-Hound pack that lives in the jungles near us that numbers in the fifties!”
Fifty Bone-Hounds?!”
“Yes, and that they are led by a Bone-Hound larger than any ever seen. He has a large scar on his right eye, they some people call him ‘The Great Scarred One’”.
The old man back with an old book in his hands and joins in on the conversation. “Ah yes, I’ve heard of him. Said to be the largest Bone-Hound, about as large as the legendary Praetorians that lived long ago. Not even Razor Boars or even Riesen Gottesanbeterin are a match for him. Thank the gods he has no interest in our castle. I doubt we would be a match for his pack. Anyways, here’s the book that talks about them.” Solon then hands Azazel the old book that has clearly seen better days. On the cover is a picture of a Bone-Hound with a scar over its right eye, presumably The Great Scarred One.

Azazel looks over the book and asks, “How much do you want for it?”
Solon just shakes his head as he says, “Eh, just take it. No one really wants that book anyways. Besides, think of it as payment.” Solon chuckles to himself.
Selene giggles along with Solon before she snaps back to attention and says, “Oh right. Solon, I have a question for you.”
Solon looks at Selene and asks, “Yes my dear, what is it?”
“Do you have any idea how to contact the Hidden Blades?” This causes both Azazel and Solon to tense up.
“Uhhhh, why do you want to contact them?” Solon asks.
“Well, it’s not so much as me who wants to contract them, it’s more the king
who wants to contract them. Because you see, the princess was taken to another kingdom to learn how diplomacy works and that she and her caravan will be returning with a ‘gift’, but they should have been back by now. So naturally, the king is worried about his daughter.”
Azazel then walks up to Selene and asks, “But why contact the Hidden
Blades? Wouldn’t the Royal Guard work?”
“Well, yes, but you see, the Royal Guard does not have the tracking ability
that the Hidden Blades have. Plus, don’t the Hidden Blades have pets that they use to track their targets?”
Azazel chuckles and says, “I honestly sincerely doubt that. They don’t seem the type to keep pets.”
“Perhaps. Anyways, I have to get going. The king wants me to find a way to contract them and if I don’t, he’ll have my head.”
“Actually,” Azazel begins. Both Selene and Solon look at him, Selene with curiosity in her eyes and Solon with surprise and anxiety in his. “I believe that I may know how to give them a contract. There are two ways that I know of. One is where you spread a rumor. Eventually, an assassin may show up at night or something and accept it. Another is that there are these marks all over the city; especially ally ways, where you can leave a message. Then they will contact you.”
“Wow, amazing. But, how do you know that?”
“Well, umm, uh, you see, I have, well, hired their services sometimes to… accompany me on some of my digs and explorations.”
“Ooh, that makes sense, I think.” Azazel and Solon both sigh from relief. Selene then snaps her fingers and exclaims, “Ah, yes, I have to get these books back to the castle. The king will soon be mounting a search and rescue party and I am going to be part of it. Thanks for the information about the assassins!” And with that, Selene waves at them and runs off as Solon and Azazel wave back.
Solon looks over at Azazel and tells him, “You were lucky, young one. You almost gave away your identity. That would’ve been bad, considering that you already revealed it to the princess.”
“Yes yes,” Azazel replies. He then turns towards and heads towards the door, saying, “Now, if you don’t mind, I have to get going. Maybe try to talk Dominus into letting me take this contract should it fall through.”
And before Solon could respond, Azazel was out the door. He simply chuckles to himself and thinks, “I swear, that boy will be the death of Dominus or me. Still, I wish him luck.”