Exodus: The Assassin's Path 19 A Short Ride And A Long Fall

Q watched as Tal and Pops logged off, she needed to go back and sit with Ren, while Pops had some things to prepare. The nurse they had hired was only part time. Q approached the table, Mojo was sitting with Remmy, Leah and Yayia. They had brought up a local map and were studying it.

"Question, what is out there ?" Q asked the small group.

Leah stared off into s.p.a.ce pretending she didn't hear, Yayia's pale elfin features turned slightly pink as she fiddled with the time piece around her neck, Remmy shrugged like she didn't care and Mojo looked at him carefully, not sure if he was joking.

"Oh, I see." Mojo spoke softly, he really didn't know. "It's an establishment that specializes in adult entertainment."

If they expected Q to be embarra.s.sed they were wrong, the young man flashed them all a grin. "By a starter town? Why out in the middle of nowhere?"

"Because of several annual celebrations taking place at the same time, one of those being the Apple festival. Talon has drawn a huge crowd during this week." Leah's cheeks were a bit redder than normal as she explained.

"Seems like they wouldn't have time to build a .. place of business in such a short time." Q gave her an innocent look, "I think you and I should take a trip out there to do some scouting."

"um.. I can, I mean we can go there together, if you want to." Leah looked at the others seated at the table as if looking for opinions.

"That won't be necessary, hitting him there would be difficult anyway. " Mojo leaned forward and adjusted the 3-D map of the area. "Madam Leilani sets up a series of small extravagant tents, that are all encapsulated by an even larger tent. The outer tent has all sorts of wards that block prying eyes and ears. She can set up in a day and take everything down even quicker. She travels throughout the seven continents with her.. um traveling show."

"Oh, like a circus tent?" He nodded to himself. "Probably avoids a lot of taxes and fees, word of mouth spreads that she has set up somewhere and everyone with credits to spend shows up."

Mojo watched him carefully, he always figured things out quickly. More importantly his reasoning was uncannily accurate. "This is the route he takes from Talon."

A road traveling from Talon to Madam Leilani's was highlighted, the group studied the map looking at the best possibilities.

"Simple works, right?" Q pointed to a winding road. "How does he travel? Horse perhaps?"

"He takes a stage, a covered one." Remmy clucked her tongue, "else I could just pop him on the way."

"Easy enough, I'll use 'Hiding in Plain Site' to pose as a driver," he leaned forward and used a swipe of his hand to turn the map. "I can disconnect the horses right here," he highlighted a hairpin turn that was overlooking a drop of several hundred feet. The road was more than wide enough to navigate the turn safely, but if someone were to drive off the edge, they would plummet to the bottom.

Just like that, solved in the simplest manner possible. Mojo tapped her chin looking for holes in the plan, finally she nodded. "Let's push this ahead then, his pattern suggests he will make the trip in three hours."

"I'll take Q back to town and get ready," Leah suggested with a hopeful look. It would be nice to spend a few hours together.

"No, you and Remmy will camp out here, to overlook things." She pointed to the hairpin turn while giving Leah a stern look, "in case something goes wrong the two of you will have to act quickly." She softened her tone slightly, "you have responsibilities as one of his officers."

Leah blushed slightly and looked as if she wanted to protest. After a moment of thought, she nodded her head in agreement.

***************

Q had the wagon drop him off at the old bandit bridge. Taking a quick look around he slid down the bank and stepped under the bridge to activate 'Hiding in Plain Site.' As Guardsman Percival, Q enjoyed a leisurely walk back to town.

"Activate Ma.s.s Quest Giver," he paused just outside of the main gate.

System Message: Ma.s.s Quest Giver activated. Please choose quest details.

"Turn in Iron, 40 at a time. Reward is 300 experience points. Unlimited. Turn in wood, 30 at a time. Reward is 300 experience points. Unlimited. Turn-in NPC is Bezri.

System Message: Ma.s.s Quest Interface

All personnel in Talon are given two quests by Guardsman Percival.

Quest: Rebuilding Talon

Objective: Turn in 40 Iron

Reward: 300 experience points

Duration: Unlimited

NPC Turn-in: Bezri

Quest: Rebuilding Talon II

Objective: Turn in 30 Wood

Reward: 300 experience points

Duration: Unlimited

NPC Turn-in: Bezri

Murmuring could be heard all over Talon, including some of Q's cla.s.smates.

"Did you just get two quests?

"It says unlimited?"

"Time to farm some levels!"

Q walked over to the stables where the stagecoach was being kept. Two NPC guards were standing by, they both nodded at Q when they saw him. A while later Guardsman Percival watched as Hades Shadetree boarded the stage.

He was slim and short, with slicked back hair. His black eyes darted everywhere nervously, his thin mouth crooked in a permanent sneer. As soon as the door closed him in, Guardsman Percival climbed into the drivers seat and waved the other two away.

********************

Jinn watched her friend as she fidgeted nervously. "We are just scouting girl, why are you so jumpy?"

Rhapsody gave her a look and then she breathed out slowly. "Right... d.a.m.n it's hot out here right?" She played with her hair as they continued to watch the road.

"One of the barmaids from the Shady Horizon said he has been taking this road out of town every day." Jinn had been in the Shady Horizon and had casually asked about Hades Shadetree. The man was extremely unpopular among the NPC females in Talon. The barmaid had no problem spilling everything she knew.

Rhapsody rubbed her hands together, "my first target, we have to make sure this goes off without a hitch."

Jinn patted her friends shoulder as they sat quietly on a ledge half a mile from a hairpin turn.

Roughly six hundred meters away, Remmy and Leah also kept an eye on the road.

"If he so much as peeps his head out, I'm gonna shoot the greasy b.a.s.t.a.r.d." Remmy was laying comfortably in a p.r.o.ne position, her goggles sitting on her pink hair.

"I'm a bit scared. If things go bad, Q will be facing a high level rogue by himself." Leah bit her lip nervously. She wore leather leggings and a black vest. Her red hair was pulled back and braided intricately into one long braid.

"That's why we are here Leah," the little gnome didn't seem nervous at all. "Dust, here they come."

Q gripped the reins tightly in both hands. As part of his guardsman ident.i.ty, he had a basic knowledge on how to operate the coach. It was a bit more challenging then he thought.

The horses were connected to the wagon by a pin roughly a foot long and two inches in diameter. It had a ridge on top to stop it from sliding through, a cotter key was inserted through a hole in the bottom to keep the pin from riding up. Before they had left, Q had put the pin in upside down, with the cotter key at the top. Once someone kicked loose the key, the pin would drop onto the ground and disconnect the horses.

He sped the team up to make sure the wagon would clear the edge after he leaped clear. Just before he reached the turn he stepped down and kicked the cotter key loose. As expected the pin fell to the ground and the horses slowly parted from the coach as it continued toward the edge.

Q smiled has he stepped back up and prepared to jump clear. "Oh s.h.i.+t.!!"

Q cursed as his foot slipped right into the braking gear. "Flaming b.a.l.l.s of s.h.i.+t!" He tried to yank his foot free but his weight fell against the lever, and locked his boot under it. Q looked up and saw the edge coming up. "I could pull the brake to get my foot out....but that would stop the coach. s.h.i.+t!!"

"Trouble!" Remmy was watching everything through Reaper's scope. "He's going over," she looked up at Leah only to find that the redhead was running along the top of the ridge parallel to the road.

Leah sprinted toward the hairpin turn, her boots flying along the ground as she tried to intercept the coach.

*I wish I were you*

*Target is out of range*

"No!" Leah continued running along the ridge her face showing panic as she watched the coach approach the edge.

Q watched as the coach started to go over the edge, "only one shot at this." As the front wheels cleared the edged he hauled back on the brake freeing his foot and jumped clear. He thought he would have a chance to grab the edge but he was off by several feet, and he sailed into the air.

"d.a.m.n..my happy life!"

Leah put on a last burst of speed and jumped from the ridge to the road a dozen feet below, landing hard in a cloud of dust she staggered forward.

*I wish you I were you*

A moment later Q stumbled into the dirt on the road. "What the h.e.l.l?" He looked around in confusion, before a thundering crash got his attention. He moved closer to the edge and discovered the twisted, broken remains of the coach on the rocks far below. A movement caught his eyes.

"Leah?"

Several feet below, Leah stood on a glowing cloud of feathers as she drifted slowly toward the canyon floor. She had heartwarming smile on her face, her lips moving as she threw her head back in joy.

Q watched wordlessly as she drifted downward, his heart beating fast, her voice echoing off the canyon walls.

"There was a farmer who had a dog and bingo was his name-o, B I N G O..."

System Message: You have Successfully a.s.sa.s.sinated a target on your Hit List.

Hades Shadetree

Level 67

*Ding* Level 26

*Ding* Level 27

*Ding* Level 28

*Ding* Level 29

*Ding* Level 30

System Message: You have been awarded 425 thousand credits for a.s.sa.s.sinating a target 42 levels higher then you.

****************

"D-Did that stage just go over the edge?" The dust from the coach obstructed their view when it approached the turn, Jinn had thought it was going too fast.

Rhapsody shrugged. "I really couldn't tell from here, lets take a clos..."

System Message: You have Successfully a.s.sa.s.sinated a target on your Hit List.

Hades Shadetree

Level 67

*Ding* Level 47

*Ding* Level 48

System Message: You have been awarded 215 thousand credits for a.s.sa.s.sinating a target 21 levels higher then you.

"What the h.e.l.l?" She gave Jinn an incredulous look. "I just received notice.. my first kill!!"

"An accident?" Jinn followed Rhapsody down to the road as they started walking toward the bend. 'Do accidents like that even happen?'

"Disable Hiding in Plain Site." Q continued to wave at Leah as she drifted down. "d.a.m.n.. that was really something." Not sure if he liked it, but his heart was still pounding. He turned just as Remmy climbed down from the ridge. He gave her a smile.

"We have company Q." She motioned behind her as Jinn and Rhapsody slowly rounded the corner.

"This should be good." Q clasped his hands behind his back and waited for the duo to arrive.

"What are you doing here Q?" Rhapsody didn't know what to think. High level a.s.sa.s.sins seemed to drop like flies around him.

"Hmm.. same thing as you I expect." He elbowed Remmy as she started laughing.

"Only he beat ya to it!!" Remmy laughed loudly as she pounded on her leg with one hand. "s.n.a.t.c.hed it right away from ya.." She continued her laughter, leaning on Q to keep from falling.

"...." Rhapsody.

"No worries, consider this a gift. That's two for me now." Q gave Remmy a high five as he made his way toward the trail that wound down to the canyon floor.

Rhapsody blushed slightly, looking down at the ground. "That was my first kill!" She sighed in frustration. Quickly she motioned to Jinn to follow them.

Halfway down the trail they ran into Leah who was smiling while carrying a small canvas bag over one shoulder. She threw her arms around Q's neck when she saw him, kissing his face several times while holding him tight , it was a few seconds before she finally released him.

"Thank you Leah, that was extraordinary!!" She had gone all out and proven herself. The committee had wanted him to appoint someone else to be his Lieutenant, but he had insisted. "I knew you'd be there when I needed you."

The girl known as the Apple Princess blushed prettily, "hey, this was in the coach." She handed Q the bag she carried, "I can confirm that Shadetree has died."

"Sudden deceleration syndrome?" Q asked with a straight face.

"Rock poisoning?" Jinn added in.

Remmy gave them a look. "He died from the fall dummies."

Q winked at Remmy, "you are probably right." He opened the bag Leah handed him. Slowly he pulled out several doc.u.ments folded together. He whistled and handed them to Remmy. "Take a look!"

Remmy pulled her goggles over her eyes and glanced at the doc.u.ments. "Thieves!! d.a.m.n Thieves.."

The little gnome's face darkened in anger as she slowly paged through the doc.u.ments. It was a packing list of sorts, along with blueprints and a map.

"Those look like some sort of artillery weapon." Q wasn't an expert, but he knew what a weapon looked like.

"It's a b.l.o.o.d.y gnome cannon! Twelve of them to be exact." Tears flowed from Remmy's eyes as her face wrinkled up. "They took-em .. stole-em."

"Hey.." Q hugged Remmy close with one arm, to his surprise she turned toward him and starting crying. Her small arms holding his s.h.i.+rt as her shoulders shook in grief.

The three girls watched as Q comforted the little gnome, they were all teary eyed. It was hard watching Remmy cry.

Q hugged Remmy until she stopped crying. She refused to speak anymore as she quietly followed them back to the road. By the time they arrived Mojo was there along with a wagon driver. One glance and she could tell that something happened.

"The hit was successful," Q handed her the bag as he climbed into the wagon. "We found this."

Mojo read through the doc.u.ments as the wagon headed back toward town, about halfway there she stopped reading and scooted over closer to Remmy. She surprised everyone when she put an arm around the little gnomes shoulders. They sat there huddled together and talking quietly until they arrived back in Talon.

"We are going to take this back with us so we can take a closer look." Mojo motioned for Leah to remain in the wagon as Jinn and Rhapsody jumped down.

Q bent down and kissed Remmy's pink hair. "Bye Remmy."

"Bye bye," her voice was soft as she looked up with red eyes.