Page 70 of I Ran Away to Evil 2
“An hour.” Rufus looked like he wanted to say something more but chose otherwise.
Brownie hummed. “Then if it’s longer, I’ll start to worry.”
He stiffened but nodded. Then he turned to the two still seated. “I hope that now that you’ve invited us here, you will be sure to keep this building secure in my absence. I’ll be leaving my things upstairs.”
Jack waved away his concern. “The Wistful Cup is neutral ground and under the protection of many different parties.”
“Nobody wants to get on the bad side of the Pixie Prim,” Pjori added, shaking his head. “Even I know that, and I’m not from here.”
Rufus nodded and walked to the door, opening it up politely for Brownie. She glanced over her shoulder at him and said, “Goodbye,” then walked out of the interrogation room with her head held high … and forty-nine seconds remaining on her [Liar’s Palace].
Following Rufus to the Assassin’s Guild was the perfect excuse to follow Rufus out of that room. She’d noticed around the same time he did that there was more to her being there than just as an accessory to her previous experiences with the slave traders … and she was giving Rufus the benefit of the doubt that he wasn’t in on the entire thing.
His outright anger at Jack made her feel slightly reassured.
The unfortunate thing about the Assassin’s Guild being right next door, and the meeting place for Rufus two doors down from that, was that she couldn’t just sit in a chair and watch at the window. She had to crane her neck to stare down the street while Rufus set up kicking his heels outside a shop down the way.
At least he was as tall as she was, which was to say very tall, and easily spotted.
The assassins discovered as much; three approached him earlier than his appointed time. Technically, two approached him, and the third hovered close by, pretending to be interested in something that was on display in a storefrontwindow. Brownie knew immediately they were Assassins. Once you picked up the signs, it was easy to tell most of the Rogue classes apart.
The generic signs were obvious; [Silent Steps], [Soft Foot], [Hide Tracks], [Shadowstep]. There were so many different perks that came with a Rogue-based class. They all had the same thing in common: that the person moving left no trace of their passage. And not just sound, but the stylized way they moved just screamed “don’t look at me” and “I’m not here.” It gave away the class to anyone who knew what they were looking for.
Brownie had grown up surrounded by family members who specialized in obfuscation. She even had Rogue as her coming-of-age class, not that she told people that. Don’t get her started; Brownie loved her family, she just loved music more. She was very lucky that her family’s training in the [Rogue] class gave her improved dexterity that helped her play her instrument, but she was equally lucky that her family her decision to become a bard since it brought her joy.
Maybe she would swing by and visit her cousins when she got home; she didn’t always stay long enough to see everyone between her trips.
Or not. What with everyone up in arms over the molten ash vane, it would be better to lay low.
Rufus and the two assassins finished talking. Sure enough, they walked back toward the Wistful Cup, and into the building next door.
Now it was just hoping Jack was wrong, and Rufus made it out again in one piece.
CHAPTER 41
At No Point Did I Break Jack’s Nose
Rufus
I was a calm beastman, usually.
The only thing that got me excited was a romance novel or a Minstrel Bronwynn concert, so I wasn’t in the practice of needing to hold back my temper. After today, I felt that I’d been tried and tested, and had come out admirably.
At no point did I break Jack’s nose. And while the man was a competent attendant and an excellent spy, he was also directly responsible for Bronwynn sitting in a window watching me being led into danger.
Bronwynn, who was excellent at jumping out of windows.
Jack had put a civilian in danger. Sure, she wasn’t from the Dark Enchanted Forest, and she wasn’t my responsibility. But by the gods, I was the leader of her fan club, and it was my duty to … I don’t know. Prevent her from breaking her fingers going up against a bunch of assassins late on a weeknight.
“This way, Commander General,” the young man wearing a casual white tunic and button-up trousers said, opening the door to the Assassin’s Guild. His companion remained outside, leaning against the wall of the building. We walked down a short hallway that ended in a reception room where an elf woman leaned back in a chair behind a desk; her feet were up on it and crossed over nonchalantly. A piece of paper lay on her face, blotting out the light. When the door closed behind us with an audibleclick, I realized how otherwise quiet the entire place had been up until that point.
“Aren’t you supposed to—” The elf lifted the sheet of paper with one hand before stopping when she saw the two of us. A huge smile bloomed on her face as she promptly dropped her feet to the floor and stood up. “Well, hello!”
“It is nice to meet you. I am Commander General Rufus Triever.” I noticed with interest that the woman looked like a Barbarian class. Her light brown armswere as thick as my legs, and her long brown hair trailed to her hips. Tufts of fur stuck out of her lightweight chest plate. She came up to my chin.
Her smile got bigger as she reached out a hand and I shook it.
“Eva Lina, at your service. You’re early, and things aren’t ready yet, but I’m sure we can findsomethingto do in the meantime.”
